Page 547 - Top MMA News and Mixed Martial Arts Headlines

Do you have a hot MMA story or news item that you have found and would like to share?
Then read our guidelines then post it to our MMA News Share Forum to have it display here for the community to read on this page.

BT Sport launched in the UK yesterday with a one day Freeview event to give potential new customers a taste of what they can expect with a full subscription. The day peaked with a 1.21% share (some 207k viewers) for the Bayern Munich versus Manchester City European Football (Soccer) match, according to BroadcastNow.co.uk
According to a BBC Business article, BT has spent over £700 million in the last few years for upcoming Premier League Football matches, compared to Sky's £2billion+ for the majority of match rights. ITV, Setanta and ESPN have tried taking on the Sky giant when it comes to exclusive live sport coverage and have been found lacking, and it seems BT has already failed to put its best foot forward.

It looks like another Bellator champion is on the market after completing his contract, following in the footsteps of Hector Lombard and Eddie Alvarez. According to CEO Bjorn Rebney, welterweight king Ben Askren is no longer obligated to any action under the organization’s flag after finishing his original deal with a successful defense at Bellator 97.
Askren is currently in a period of exclusive negotiations with Bellator and isn’t completely free to explore all of his options.

There are certain risks involved with taking a fight on short notice, and UFC middleweight Bristol Marunde knows them as well as anyone.
Over the past two years, Marunde has had the opportunity to compete under the bright lights of the Strikeforce and UFC banners. However, in his two fights with the organizations, he had a minimal amount of time to prepare due to the fact he stepped in on very short notice...

On August 14, Boston will have an “Ultimate Fighting Champion Homecoming,” and celebrate the return of the sport to the city.
But a team of parents, doctors, and city officials are trying to put the chokehold on the “extremely violent form of entertainment” by banning minors from baring witness to the martial-arts matches.
The “UFC Homecoming” event, which will be held at the Barrio Cantina on Boylston Street and hosted by UFC President Dana White, is scheduled to take place just weeks after City Council President Stephen Murphy filed a resolution asking to put an end to anyone under the age of 18—even with a parent or guardian—from attending the fights. “Cage fighters at the amateur and professional levels have competed in public stadiums and on television bearing Neo-Nazi messages in their tattoos or on their clothing,” Murphy said in his filing during a City Council meeting on Wednesday, “and extensive research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive and violent behavior, bullying, desensitization to violence, fear, and depression.”

It takes a small army of security personnel to usher Jose Aldo into the van that awaits the UFC's featherweight titleholder. Along the way, he answers as many reporters' questions as possible, smiles for camera click after camera click and signs a few dozen autographs.
Thursday's swirl of activity follows a three-hour engagement in which Aldo participated in a news conference, put on a public workout session that featured a soundtrack by a live rock band and then waded through a sea of fans and reporters to answer even more questions as microphones, cameras and recorders were shoved in his face.
It was time for Aldo to retreat to his hotel, but his removal from the scene was anything but easy...

UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz followed friend and former trainer partner Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s footsteps all the way to Bellator MMA, but he didn’t stop there. Just like Rampage, Ortiz also made the move to TNA Wrestling’s Impact.
The hot internet rumor just a few short days ago had Bellator putting Rampage up against Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match on pay-per-view opposite the UFC’s year-end extravaganza that features Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva II and Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate II...